The simulation of poultry house thermal behavior with and without Adiabatic Evaporative Cooling (SRAE) allows the decision makers to evaluate the economical feasibility and the installation costs of a poultry production business. The first step in this research investigation was test the thermal behavior model developed by Gates et al. (1995) for broiler houses in the United States based on the hypothesis that this model, using climatized sheds, as proposed by the authors, could be used under Brazilian conditions. The model is suitable for the proposed objective in the form proposed by Gates et al. (1995) for poultry houses with an elevated mass air flow rate (120.8 kg air s-1 or higher). A correction factor referring to a series of heat sources not included in the model, or the inclusion of these sources, is necessary for poultry houses without a high mass air flow.
mathematical models; chicken production; evaporative cooling
